


5 Questions Levi Asked Nico and 1 Question Nico Asked Him

by redwheelbarrow



Series: Schmico 5+1 [3]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:02:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26924044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redwheelbarrow/pseuds/redwheelbarrow
Summary: In which we go back to the beginning of the 5+1 series to see how Schmico came to be.
Relationships: Nico Kim/Levi Schmitt
Series: Schmico 5+1 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703233
Comments: 19
Kudos: 230





	5 Questions Levi Asked Nico and 1 Question Nico Asked Him

**Author's Note:**

> I was out of the game, and then two instagram posts pulled me back in. 
> 
> Happy reading!

  1. **Are you ever going to ask me out?**



“I’ve told her how we feel about it, but could you please try to talk to her? She prefers advice when it comes from you,” Nico’s mom has been ranting and raving about his younger sister for probably ten minutes now.

He checks his watch and confirms how close he is to being late.

“Mom,” he interrupts, “Camilla gives you a hard time on purpose. There’s no way she’s actually planning on taking a gap year alone in Thailand. She’s just telling you that so she can pretend to be heartbroken when you say no. Then, you and dad will say yes when she tells you her real plan of spending six months with her friends in Europe.”

“Oh my God,” his mom groans. “You’re right. Well now she’s not going to Europe either. She needs to start taking initiative and planning for the –”

“I’ve really got to go,” Nico cuts in again. “Today’s the first day of class. Dr. Michaels will kill me if I’m late. Doesn’t really set a good example.”

“Oh, honey! Go, go, go. Thank you for the intel! Call me later? We can actually talk about you this time.”

Nico laughs, “Yeah, sure. I’ll call tonight.”

Nico hangs up and ducks into the chemistry building. If he rushes, he still be a couple of minutes early. The halls are pretty packed, and Nico notices more than one student that seems a bit lost. Part of him wants to stop and help, but the other part knows Dr. Michaels will grill him if he’s late on the first day.

He makes it up to the auditorium just before 9:00 and manages to grab a seat in the first row without any chastisement. Dr. Michaels does give him a little eyebrow raise, though. Right at 9:00, Dr. Michaels stands to address the class.

“Welcome to your first semester of organic chemistry. I’m Dr. Michaels. My office hours and email are reflected in your syllabus, which you can access through our online portal. Feel free to reach out to me through either platform. If those hours don’t work with your schedule or if you’re too intimidated to reach out to me directly, feel free to contact your TA. His name is Nico Kim. He’s a senior in biochemical engineering, and he’s one of the few students to get an A in this class. Nico, would you like to introduce yourself?”

Nico wasn’t expecting to have any attention directed his way, but he stands up anyway.

“I’m Nico,” he says with a little wave. “I’ve put my email and cell number on the syllabus. I have an office on the first floor of this building, so you can drop by there during my office hours. No appointment needed, and I welcome stupid questions. I had plenty of them when I was in this class. Believe me.”

He sits back down and leans back to listen to the first lecture. He’s glad to find he still remembers the bulk of what’s being covered, but he takes some notes for good measure. Dr. Michaels even lets out a few minutes early, which is nearly unheard of.

“Nico,” he calls as Nico is packing up his laptop.

“Sir?”

“I appreciate you being willing to sit through the lectures all over again. I know it can’t be terribly interesting for you,” Dr. Michaels isn’t one to overtly express gratitude, so Nico is a little surprised.

“It’s not a problem,” Nico replies. “I think I’ll be more help to the students if I’m on top of the current material.”

“I think you’d be on top of things whether you were here or not, but I appreciate it either way.”

“You’re welcome,” Nico says. He’s tempted to say it’s not a bother or it’s all fine, but his mother has told him numerous times that ‘you’re welcome’ is more polite.

Nico gathers up his backpack and heads up the stairs to the exit. He takes a hard right out of the door and jumps when he accidentally steps on something.

“Ow!”

Crap. Not something. Someone.

“I’m so sorry, dude,” Nico says. He takes in the guy he just stepped on. Okay so not only did he just step on a person, he stepped on a guy who is definitely his type. Double crap.

“It’s all good,” the stranger says. “I shouldn’t be sitting here anyway. My class doesn’t start for another 45 minutes, but I was worried about getting lost. Now I’m just sitting here in everyone’s way because I’m worried I won’t find my way back if I leave.”

Nico looks him over. He’s wearing navy chinos, which is definitely preferable to jeans in the Los Angeles heat. His t-shirt is a multi-colored stripe, and he’s wearing white tennis shoes. He’s fidgeting with his tortious-shell glasses, the stems of which are lost in his brown curly hair.

Nico has maybe been staring for too long because the guy is starting to look a little nervous.

“No worries,” Nico finally says. “We were all Freshman once. I’m Nico, by the way. Seems only right to introduce myself after I almost killed you.”

“I’m Levi,” the guy says. “Are, um, you a Sophomore?”

“Senior,” Nico corrects. “I TA the class before yours. How early did you say you were?”

Levi checks his phone screen and looks embarrassed.

“Like forty-five minutes.”

“Get up,” Nico directs with a smile. “I think I owe you a coffee.”

“You really don’t have to –”

“Don’t worry,” Nico laughs. “I’ll walk you back afterwards. I’m not going to let you get lost.”

Levi still looks unconvinced.

“Look,” Nico says, “You’re in college now. You can make your own decisions. Do you want to get some coffee or not? My treat.”

Levi checks the time on his phone again.

“No. Yeah. Let’s go.”

= = =

It becomes a thing after that. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Nico walks out of class to find Levi early to his lecture. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they walk to the student center Starbucks for two double-shot lattes.

“You think your parents are bad,” Levi says when Nico finishes recounting a 45-minute family facetime from the night before. “Try having my mom. She calls me every day, and she spends half of the phone call trying to convince me to transfer to a college in Seattle.”

“Seattle is nice,” Nico says. “My older sister lives in Seattle.”

“Does that make it more or less enticing to live there?” Levi challenges.

“Oh, definitely less,” Nico laughs.

They’re sitting out on second floor balcony enjoying the nice day. Nico embarrassingly refers to this table as their spot in his head. The semester is already halfway over, and Nico has learned more about Levi than he’s learned about the subject matters of any of his classes. That should maybe be concerning, but he’s already gotten into medical school. He can afford to coast a little.

He knows Levi has an overbearing mother, and that he was a bit of a nerd in high school. He knows Levi knows way too much about Dungeons and Dragons, but he also still has room for a lot biology and chemistry. He knows Levi says he wants to be a doctor because he’s too afraid to say he wants to be a surgeon.

For all of the things Nico does know about Levi, he still doesn’t know if he’s gay. Or bi. Or interested in men at all.

Nico feels he’s done his part in bringing sexuality to the table. He’s told Levi about his coming out in high school, and how his parents didn’t care as long as his relationships didn’t affect his schoolwork. He’s talked about past relationships and even about losing his virginity.

Levi doesn’t respond in kind. He’s interested and attentive when Nico brings it up, but he doesn’t offer any personal information in return. Instead he tends to change the subject.

“I’m not sure where I’ll end up after medical school,” Nico continues. Then, because it’s always worth a shot, he says, “I think I’ll stay on the west coast, though. I think people are more accepting about the gay thing here. Makes it a bit easier.”

Levi nods earnestly, and Nico thinks he might actually throw him a bone.

“New York would probably be fine too,” Levi says instead.

Nico barely resists the urge to bang his head on the table.

“Did you make your final decision about med school?” Levi asks, completely oblivious to Nico’s inner turmoil. “Deadlines are coming up, right?”

“Yeah,” Nico says. “I think I’m going with UCLA. My parents really want me to pick Stanford because it’s so close to Palo Alto, but it just feels like I’d be moving backwards. Plus, with UCLA, I don’t have to move.”

Nico watches Levi try to hide his pleased grin. He fails pretty spectacularly, and Nico adds this moment to the list of ones that help convince him he has a shot here.

“I hope when I’m in your shoes, I’ll have my pick of top ten programs and be able to make the decision based on something as banal as the inconvenience of moving,” Levi teases.

It’s true to form. Every time Nico thinks they’re close to saying something about whatever it is they’re doing here, Levi makes a joke.

It’s still a funny joke, though, so Nico laughs.

= = =

The semester is coming to a close, and Nico has made pretty much zero progress on the Levi front.

Zero progress is maybe a bit harsh. They’ve grown close over the course of the last few months. Levi is probably his best friend, and they’ve moved from only hanging out over morning coffee to hanging out at the library and at Nico’s apartment and Levi’s dorm.

He just hasn’t made any progress on the telling-Levi-I-like-like-him front.

Nico’s starting to feel a bit sorry for himself, really. It’s a little too self-congratulatory to say out loud, but he’s a bit of a stranger to this unrequited crush thing. Nico’s Palo Alto prep school only had three other out guys in his class, and he dated all of them. He even had a steady boyfriend his first two years at USC, and he was the one to make the first move every time. He thought becoming friends with Levi would make it easier to shoot his shot, but it’s only made it harder. Now he values their relationship too much to make it weird. If he could just know for certain Levi was interested this whole situation could be resolved by now.

It’s the final week of classes before finals week, and Nico is waiting for Levi to come over. He’s promised to help Levi prep for his biology final, and Levi promised to bring pizza in return. Nico has spent the last fifteen minutes pacing his living room. He’s not sure what’s come over him – it might be the holiday spirit, or it might be the phone call with his dad earlier where he all but called him a coward for still having not told Levi how he feels.

Either way, he’s pacing and contemplating changing out of his USC sweatshirt and into something more formal or fancy or flattering. He’s made up his mind. Hell or highwater, he’s asking Levi out tonight.

There’s a knock at the door, and Nico is nervous but a little glad he can finally stop pacing.

He opens the door, and it’s Levi. He doesn’t have pizza though, and he’s not in his usual study attire or sweats and a t-shirt. He’s dressed similarly to the day they met. That was before Levi realized most college students didn’t bother getting dressed up for class.

“Hi,” Levi says, and he maneuvers his way around Nico to take a seat on the couch.

“Hey,” Nico says warily. He was already nervous about tonight, and Levi’s own frantic state has only made it worse. “Did you want to order the pizza from here or –”

“Are you ever going to ask me out?” Levi blurts before Nico can finish. He also continues before Nico can respond. “Because, I mean, I thought that’s where this was headed, but it’s been months and we still haven’t been on a date.”

“I didn’t know you were gay!” Nico says in shock.

“ _What?_ ” Levi asks. “How is that possible? I’ve been flirting! I’ve done everything lovesick protagonists do in cheesy romance novels. I touch your shoulder, and I laugh at your jokes even when they’re not funny –”

“ _Hey!”_

“—and I pretend to not understand my Intro to Biology course so I can spend more time with you tutoring me. There is literally nothing else I could’ve done to give you a hint.”

“I don’t know, Levi! You could’ve said ‘Oh, hey, I’m totally into dudes by the way.’”

“I didn’t think it needed to be said! I think pretty much everything about me points to that being the case,” Levi argues.

“You can’t just assume,” Nico counters. “That’s not cool.”

“Oh, come on!”

Nico only just realizes what’s going on here.

“Why are we fighting?” he asks. “We don’t have to fight about this. I’ve been waiting to ask you out for months. I’ve kind of been driving myself crazy with how long I’ve been waiting.”

“Well that’s your own fault,” Levi says.

“You could’ve asked me out,” Nico points out.

“Yeah, right,” Levi scoffs. “The ball has been and always will be in your court. Look at me, and look at you, and tell me how I would be the one to make the first move here.”

“You kind of just did though,” Nico laughs. He moves to take a seat beside Levi on the couch.

“I did, didn’t I?” Levi asks dazedly. “I totally asked you out. I made the first move.”

“I’m just as shocked as you are,” Nico says. “I’ve been working up to this for months, and you just barge in here and steal my moment.”

“We could pretend I didn’t,” Levi offers. “I feel kind of bad. Just ask me out, and we’ll pretend you made the first move, and that I didn’t pretty much demand you take me on a date.”

Nico rests a hand on Levi’s thigh.

“I don’t think I will,” he says lightly. “I like that it happened this way.”

  1. **Can I come to Palo Alto?  
**



Nico is home for his last summer before medical school begins in August. His initial plans were to stay in Los Angeles for a bit of a staycation, but his mom was having none of it. The idea of staying in LA had also become less appealing when Levi decided to go to Seattle for the summer.

So, he and Levi have gone from seeing each other every day to being long distance. It’s not ideal, but it’s not as bad as they had feared. Nico figures it’s one of the perks of dating someone who really puts an emphasis on communication. Levi doesn’t let a day go by without a long conversation over text, a phone call, or a FaceTime.

Before they got together, Nico had been worried dating would ruin the ease of what he had with Levi. He’s seen it happen in his previous relationships. Everything is fine and easy and fun until you start making commitments. Plenty of his old boyfriends became less and less appealing as they got more and more serious. He’s glad to have been proven wrong when it comes to Levi. The more time they spend together, the more time Nico wants to spend together. It’s an observation he made in the initial few weeks, and he had contributed it to the Honeymoon Stage. It’s been six months now, and the feeling hasn’t gone away.

So, it’s hard to be in Palo Alto while his boyfriend is twelve hours away in Seattle. Nico knows he has it easier than Levi though. Nico is spending the summer lying by the pool with his little sister and playing tennis with his dad. Every now and then he spends a day reviewing biology or chemistry or anatomy. Levi has a summer job and is taking classes from USC remotely. Nico can also lament about missing his boyfriend to his family when he’s feeling particularly sorry for himself. Levi still hasn’t worked up the nerve to come out to his mom. He’s not sure how he’s getting away with it; his mom must think he and Levi are weirdly codependent best friends.

“You’re burning, sweetheart.”

Nico’s eyes snap open, and he realizes he was dozing off in his lounge chair. His mom is standing over him, and she’s holding his phone out to him. He’d left it inside to keep it from overheating.

“You should reapply,” his mom continues. “You should also call Levi. Your phone has been buzzing non-stop for a half hour.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little desperate,” Camilla says dryly from where she’s laid out in her own chair.

“I think it’s more like none of your business,” Nico says as he takes his phone from his mom. “Thanks for telling me I was burning by the way, Cami.”

“Don’t call me that,” Camilla says. She tilts down her sunglasses to look Nico over. “And we’re half Italian. We don’t burn.”

“Camilla, leave your brother alone. I swear when the two of you are here it’s like having middle schoolers all over again. The sun’s about to go in anyway. Why don’t you both go clean up? Dinner should be ready when you’re done.”

“Dad’s been trying to light the pizza oven for like two hours,” Camilla says. Nico doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction of laughing, but she’s not wrong.

“Maybe we should just order out,” Nico offers.

“We can do that,” their mom says. “But one of you has to be the one to tell him.”

Nico and Camilla look at each other. Neither volunteers.

“I’ll take a quick shower and call Levi. Then, I’ll help dad with oven.”

Camilla groans, but his mom looks pleased.

“Good boy.”

= = =

Nico keeps his shower short. Partly because he needs to call Levi back, and partly because he actually is a little burned and the water is a tad painful. He slips on some workout clothes, figuring he and his dad might play some one-on-one after dinner, and picks up his phone. Levi’s last call is from about half an hour ago, and Nico wonders if he should’ve called back before his shower. There are six missed calls, but there’s also a message simply saying to call back when he can. He clicks Levi’s name.

“Hello?” Levi answers after one ring.

“Hey, babe,” Nico says. “I’m sorry I missed your calls. I was out by the pool and my phone was inside.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi says, but he sounds a little upset.

“I’m sorry,” Nico offers. “I’ll keep it with me next time.”

“It’s really not a big deal,” Levi insists. Nico can hear some shuffling in the background, and Levi sounds like he’s moving around.

“You’re obviously upset,” Nico argues. “What are you doing anyway? Are you on a walk?”

“I’m packing,” Levi says.

“What? You’ve only been home for a month. Where are you going?”

“Back to LA. I can’t be here anymore.”

“Levi, babe, slow down,” Nico pleads. “What’s going on? I thought you were in Seattle for the whole summer.”

“That was the plan,” Levi says. “Until I came out to my mom, and she flipped out.”

Nico feels his heart fall to his stomach.

“Levi,” he says urgently, “did she kick you out?”

“Not in so many words,” Levi says. “She definitely doesn’t want to see me right now, though. So, I can’t be here.”

“Where are you going to go in LA? The dorms are closed for the summer.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Levi groans. “I wasn’t even thinking. I just, um, I just really need to get out of here. Like now.”

“Okay,” Nico says. He says it calmly, hoping it’ll help relax Levi. “That’s fine. You can just stay –”

“Can I come to Palo Alto?”

Nico is silent for a second. He was about to offer his LA apartment to Levi. He hadn’t even thought about asking him to come to Palo Alto.

“Sorry,” Levi says before Nico can respond. “Sorry. I shouldn’t just, like, invite myself to your house. Ignore me. I’ll figure something out.”

“No,” Nico says. “You should come to Palo Alto. It’s like a twelve-hour drive, though. Can you get a ride to the airport? I’ll get you booked on the next flight out.”

“You don’t have to –”

“You’re my boyfriend, Levi. I’m doing this for you whether you want me to or not.”

Levi actually laughs a little, and Nico is relieved.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll get to the airport.”

“I’ll find a flight and send you the information.”

“I guess I’ll see you soon,” Levi says. He’s a little dejected again.

Nico barely manages to hold back what he wants to say. No matter how appropriate or true it feels, he probably shouldn’t say it for the first time over the phone. He flips open his laptop and starts searching for a flight.

“I’m so sorry, Levi,” Nico says instead because it’s equally true. “Your mom loves you. She’ll come around.”

“Maybe,” Levi says.

“There’s a flight leaving in two hours. Can you get to the airport in time?”

“Yeah,” Levi says. He sounds glad to have concrete plans. “I’ll make it.”

“I’ll book it. It’s Delta, so you can pick up the ticket at their desk.”

“Thank you,” Levi says earnestly. “You’re, um, kind of amazing.”

“It’s nothing,” Nico insists. “I’ll see you tonight.”

= = =

“So, Nico’s boyfriend can come stay indefinitely, but my boyfriend can’t even come over for dinner?” Camilla asks as they sit at the dinner table. Nico has explained the situation, and his parents seem happy to have Levi stay with them.

“I think you can see how the situations are a little different, honey,” Nico’s dad says. “Nico and Levi have been dating for months, and he has nowhere else to go. We didn’t even know you had a boyfriend until you brought him up five seconds ago.”

“Whatever,” Camilla sighs. “You wouldn’t have cared even if I had told you. Everything is always about Nico.”

Nico shares amused glances with his parents. Camilla has always had a tendency toward the dramatic. She’s great at playing up the woe-is-me thing, even though she’s never lacked money, opportunity, or attention in her life.

“That’s not true,” Nico’s mom says. “Sometimes it’s about Mia.”

Even Camilla laughs.

= = =

It’s pretty late by the time Nico picks Levi up at the airport. Levi is dragging a small suitcase behind him, and he greets Nico with a sweet smile and a small wave when he spots him by his car.

“I could’ve taken an Uber,” Levi says as he walks up. Nico opens the trunk for his luggage and lifts it up and in for him. Once his hands are free, he wraps Levi up in a firm hug.

He’s not sure whether he should acknowledge the sniffling noises Levi is making, so he just rubs his back in what is hopefully a soothing gesture. Nico’s known Levi to be an emotional guy but crying has been few and far between.

“Sorry,” Levi says when he pulls back. The tears are obvious now, and Nico feels a little desperate to make it better. “I snotted on your shirt.”

“Only a little,” Nico says even though he hasn’t even looked to see the damage.

Levi is fisting the front section of Nico’s shirt, and he gives it a little tug until their lips are pressed together. It’s a short kiss. They’re in public, and Levi is probably not in the mood for a make-out session. It’s nice all the same.

“Let’s go home,” Nico says when they part.

“Okay,” Levi says. It takes a second for him to let go of Nico’s shirt and get in the car.

= = =

The drive back was relatively quiet. Levi seems mentally and physically exhausted. Nico thinks of how anxious he was when he decided to come out to his parents. At least he knew they had mostly figured it out for themselves. He was also pretty sure they would be accepting. He tries to think of how he would’ve felt if his parents hadn’t been cool with it. It would’ve been horrible.

They finally pull up in front of Nico’s house, and Levi perks up a bit.

“You grew up here?” Levi asks as they pull his stuff from the trunk. His eyes are big and scanning the front of the house.

“Yeah,” Nico says warily.

“I mean I knew you had money because of the clothes and the car and the apartment, but I wasn’t really expecting an estate.”

“It’s not an estate,” Nico laughs. “It’s homey. You’ll feel better once we’re inside.”

“I kind of hate that I’m meeting your parents while I’m puffy and sad and covered in airplane funk. It’s not exactly the first impression I was going for.”

“They’ve probably gone to bed,” Nico reassures. “And they wouldn’t care about the airplane funk. They’re excited to finally meet you.”

“They’re really okay with me being here? I’ve kind of ruined family time.”

“They don’t mind. I promise.”

Nico opens the front door, and he realizes he was wrong about his parents having gone to bed. They’re standing in the foyer staring at the front door like a couple of psychos.

“We heard you pull up,” his mom explains. “We just wanted to welcome Levi, and then we’ll get out of your hair. I changed the sheets on your bed, Nico, and there’s extra towels in your bathroom.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kim,” Levi says. “I hate I barged in on you like this, but it’s so nice to meet you both.”

“Call me Ana,” Nico’s mom says.

“And call me Jin,” his dad adds. “We don’t really mess around with the mister and missus stuff. Makes us feel old.”

“Having three children over the age of twenty doesn’t?” Nico asks.

“Shush, you,” Ana says. “You two should go to bed. You’ve had a tiring day. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Jin says. He gives Levi and Nico a pat on the shoulder as he and Ana retreat to their own room.

“Are you hungry or anything?” Nico asks when they’re gone. “Did you even get to eat dinner?”

“I didn’t, but I’m not hungry. Can we just go to bed?”

“Of course.”

Up in Nico’s room, Levi changes clothes swiftly and face plants into the bed before Nico can even pull the covers back. He’s asleep before Nico gets the lights off.

= = =

The next morning Nico wakes up to an empty bed. He’s not sure if it means Levi slept well enough to get up early or if he didn’t sleep at all. Either way, it startles him enough to make him jump out of bed and rush downstairs.

Levi’s in the kitchen, and he’s still in his pajamas. He’s not alone though. He’s standing at the oven with Nico’s mom helping her make pancakes. Sit-down breakfast hasn’t really been a thing in the Kim house since Nico was in high school. Nonetheless, his dad is setting the table. Even Camilla is pouring herself a cup of coffee. She doesn’t look amused, but she’s rarely pleased by anything.

“What’s going on down here?” Nico asks. He clears his throat immediately after. He’s still got some grogginess in his voice.

“We thought we’d treat Levi to a good first meal,” his mom answers. “He wasn’t supposed to be helping, but he insisted.”

“I can’t just sit around while everyone else works,” Levi says. He sounds brighter than yesterday. It’s a good sign, and it makes Nico smile.

“I can,” Camilla says, and she goes to do just that at the kitchen table.

“We don’t all have your mental fortitude, Cami,” Nico says. He jumps in on the bacon, and they finish cooking relatively quickly.

“Isn’t this nice?” Ana says when they all dig in. “We should do this every morning.”

“Definitely,” Jin says as he bites into his pancakes with enthusiasm. Everyone makes noises of agreement, and they eat in pleasant silence until Levi breaks it.

“Thank you for having me,” Levi says, and he sounds a little fragile. “I don’t know what I would’ve done otherwise.”

“You’re welcome whenever you’d like,” Ana says.

Nico hates the circumstances that have brought Levi to Palo Alto, but he can’t bring himself to regret he’s here.

= = =

  1. **Can’t I just live here?**



“I’m going to miss the dorm,” Levi says as he folds another one of his shirts into a suitcase.

Nico looks up from where he’s taking apart Levi’s under bed storage.

“You’re really going to miss sharing a shoebox with a stranger?” he says.

“Hey,” Levi warns. “I lived here for two years. I made memories here. We had our first kiss in this dorm.”

“Yeah. Your roommate walked in on us. It was super awkward. Kind of ruined the moment.”

“Well I prefer to remember the good parts,” Levi says. “Even if I did have to share a bathroom with twenty other college kids. Make fun of me if you want.”

Nico realizes he’s maybe gone a step too far.

“We had a lot of good moments here,” he says to appease Levi. “I think you were standing in that exact spot when I gave you your first –”

“Shut up! My mom could be back any minute!”

Nico laughs, but it’s a fair point. Even if Ms. Schmitt has come a long way in accepting their relationship in the past year, she’s definitely not ready to walk in on them discussing their sex life.

It’s summer again, and Levi has to be out of his dorm by then end of the day. Mrs. Schmitt is here helping them move some of Levi’s things to Nico’s place. Levi doesn’t have any furniture, so they’re going to store his stuff at Nico’s until they find him an apartment.

“Also, if you think the roommate woes are over, you have another thing coming. I can’t afford to live in LA without a roommate. I’ll be lucky if my new place is this size.”

“Maybe you should’ve stayed in the dorm,” Nico says.

“My scholarship only paid for two years’ worth of housing. An apartment is cheaper.”

“Right,” Nico says. He and Levi don’t talk about money very often. It’s not that financial discussions lead to arguments, but they do lead to a fair few awkward moments.

Luckily, Mrs. Schmitt reenters before they go too far down that road.

“Sweetie, I don’t know how much longer I can go up and down those stairs in this heat. You really live like this all year round?”

“It’s May, Mom,” Levi says. “But yes, it’s typically hotter here than it is in Seattle.”

“My parents are in town helping my sister move into her new apartment,” Nico says mostly to stop Levi before he goes too far with the sarcasm. “They were wondering if we wanted to meet up for lunch. We could take a break and finish up this afternoon when it’s cooler.”

“No can do,” Levi says before his mom can say anything. “Mom and I have to go look at apartments. We have like six places to view, and we’re going to have to rush through them as it is. You should go see your parents, though.”

“I’ll come with you to look at the apartments. I’d rather do that anyway.”

“No way,” Levi says flatly. “You’ll do that thing where you’ll be making comments that sound nice, but they’re actually thinly veiled criticisms. I don’t need that bad energy in my new apartment.”

“I don’t do that!”

“Yes, you do,” Levi insists. “Go have lunch with your family. Your parents were on you last week about how little they’ve seen you since Christmas.”

“Fine,” Nico agrees. “But don’t rush through them. I want you to have time to make sure you’re picking a place you actually want. I’ll have lunch with my parents and Camilla, and then I’ll bring Dad back here to pack up the rest of your stuff.”

“Oh, he doesn’t need to do that!” Mrs. Schmitt protests.

“He’ll be glad for the excuse to not go furniture shopping with the girls,” Nico says. He takes a look at his watch. “I probably should get going if I want to make it to the restaurant on time.”

He gets up off the floor and gives Levi a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Send me pics?” he asks.

“Only if you promise to be nice,” Levi says.

“I’m always nice!” Nico laughs. “Meet up at my place for dinner? We can order in.”

“Sounds good. Now get out of here! You’ll be late.”

= = =

Nico’s phone pings a few times in quick succession while he’s eating. Camilla is in the middle of a story about her trip to France, so he intentionally ignores it.

His mom is less disciplined, “Nico, should you get that?”

“It’s just Levi sending pictures of the apartments he’s checking out,” Nico says. “It can wait. Let Camilla finish.”

“You’re moving?” his dad asks.

“No? Levi’s looking for an apartment. He’s moving out of his dorm. We’ve talked about this.”

“He’s not moving in with you?” Camilla asks. Nico is surprised she’s willing to direct any attention toward his relationship. His sisters have not done well to hide their general dislike for Nico’s choice of partner. Their objections only get worse the more he ignores their opinion.

“I thought we were moving his stuff to your place?” his dad adds.

“I mean we are,” Nico says. This conversation has taken a real turn. “We are, but he’s not moving in with me. It’s just easier to store his stuff at my place than to get a storage unit somewhere.”

“I’m confused,” his mom says. “I brought you both a housewarming present. It’s in the car.”

“Levi and I haven’t even talked about living together,” Nico says. He’s feeling a bit warm in the cheeks, which is unusual because he’s not used to being embarrassed. He’s also not sure why he feels called out. “We’ve only been together for a year and a half. We’re not really there yet.”

“Good for you,” Camilla says. And, okay, if Camilla is agreeing with him, he might be in the wrong here. “There’s no reason to let Levi mooch off of you if you’re not sure he’s the one.”

“It’s not that I don’t think he’s the one,” Nico says, and he gives Camilla a warning look. “It’s not just me. He hasn’t brought it up either! He’s three years younger than me. I don’t want to push him into a commitment he’s not ready for.”

“Nico, your mother and I were engaged after dating for six months when we were Levi’s age.”

“Levi and I aren’t you and Mom. I appreciate the advice, really, but let me and Levi work this out ourselves. I’ll talk to him about it tonight, but I don’t think he’s ready.”

“Well at least show us the pictures he’s sent,” his mom sighs.

Nico can tell his parents are a bit miffed, but he’s honestly relieved to know they wished he and Levi were more serious. His sisters may not be fans, but his parents obviously are.

“Yeah sure,” Nico says.

He passes his phone over to his mom, and she scrolls through the pictures. The disproval on her face is obvious.

“You should definitely talk to him tonight.”

= = =

It only takes Nico and his dad about two hours pack up Levi’s stuff and move it to Nico’s apartment. Nico is settling some boxes against the wall of his second bedroom turned office, but he feels his dad’s eyes on him from the doorway.

“I think we’re finished,” Nico says, and his dad nods. “Levi’s mom is headed back to Seattle, so he’s heading over here for dinner.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me and your mom to take you out somewhere? I think Camilla has had her fill of us for the day.”

Nico and his dad share a laugh because it’s likely true.

“You and mom should go have dinner. You’re hardly ever in LA, and you could probably use a break from your needy kids.”

“We love when our kids are needy. Especially now that you’re older.”

Nico smiles a little, “Well, Levi and I apparently have some talking to do, and it’ll probably go better without Mom there to put in her two cents.”

“Your mom has a point, though. She almost always does.”

Nico takes a seat on the couch, and his dad joins him.

“It’s not that I don’t want Levi to live here. I just thought if he wanted to move in, he would’ve said something by now.”

“Maybe he feels uncomfortable suggesting it when you’re the one with the apartment.”

Nico laughs, “No way. Levi isn’t really one to hide how he feels about anything. If he wanted to live with me, he would say so.”

“He is pretty straightforward,” his dad concedes.

Nico forgets sometimes that his parents spent two months with Levi last Summer. He’d been so impressed by how easily Levi slid into the family. He cooked with his mom and taught her how to crochet, and he even tried his hand at one-on-one tennis with his dad. They’ve witnessed Levi’s big heart and strong convictions firsthand.

“Levi thinks he’s the insecure one, but he’s never been afraid to tell me how he feels. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I didn’t think I ever would. He makes me nervous, and I don’t want to push him beyond what he’s willing to give me.”

“I think it’s no secret that your mom and I love Levi for you. It’s not because he’s nice-looking, or intelligent, or sassy enough to keep you in line. It’s because we watched you together last summer. He’s crazy about you, Nico, and that’s what matters to me and your mom. We want you and your sisters to find people who value you like we do. If we’re right about Levi – and I think we are – he’s ready to at least talk about taking the next step. It won’t scare him off.”

It’s not always easy being his dad’s son. He’s held Nico to high standards his whole life, and there were times when his expectations for excellence were suffocating. It would’ve been worse, though, if his dad wasn’t equally as vocal in his love for him.

“I’ll talk to him,” Nico says, and it’s hard to hide the emotions swimming around his head right now.

His dad pats him firmly on the shoulder and stands.

“I better get going. There’s no way your mom will go to dinner with me before I get a shower.”

“Do you need a ride back to your hotel?” Nico asks as they walk toward the front door.

“I know how to use Uber, Nico,” his dad says with amusement. “You should wait here for Levi.”

They’re at the door, and Nico grabs his dad for a hug before he can stop himself.

“I love you,” Nico says. He maybe doesn’t say it enough.

“Love you,” his dad says back. “Good luck tonight.”

= = =

He meant to mention it the second Levi arrived, but Levi had shown up a little ruffled up from his afternoon running around the city. It’s well-documented that bright-eyed, fluffy hair, babbling Levi is Nico’s favorite Levi.

So, they had sex first.

Nico ordered pizza while Levi took a power nap, and now he’s arranging two plates while Levi takes his time waking up.

Nico walks back into the bedroom with pizza in hand, and Levi is finally sitting up against the headboard. He’s even put on a shirt, which is more than Nico can say for himself. The pizza woman had frozen for about two seconds when he answered the door.

“This has been a nearly perfect day,” Levi says as Nico hands him a plate.

“How so?” he asks.

“I got to spend the morning with you to start,” Levi says. “I spent the day with my mom, and she didn’t even hint at any negative feelings toward my sexuality or our relationship. You and your dad did the bulk of the heavy lifting from the move, and I found a couple of apartments that were in my price range but not on the edge of being condemned.”

“So, the sex doesn’t even make the list?” Nico asks.

“I can pencil it in at the bottom if it makes you feel better,” Levi jokes, but then he gets a little serious. “Of course, ending the day in bed with you and pizza makes the top of the list.”

Nico smiles as much as he can with a mouthful of pizza.

“Also, I think I saw a present in the living room, and I’m hoping it’s for me,” Levi adds.

Nico swallows quickly.

“Actually,” he says warily. “It’s a gift from my mom to both of us.”

“What’s the occasion?” Levi asks through a mouthful of crust. He’s diligently working his way through his own plate.

“It, um, was supposed to be a housewarming gift,” Nico says carefully. “She kind of assumed we were moving in together.”

Nico watches Levi for a reaction, but Levi simply reaches for his glass of water on the nightstand and takes a prolonged sip.

“Well, it was a nice gesture anyway,” Levi says finally.

Nico is a little disappointed. If there were ever an opportunity for Levi to say how he feels about cohabitating, that would’ve been it.

“Yeah. I told her you were actually looking for your own place, so…”

He doesn’t really know how to finish the statement, so he leaves it there.

“We could still open it, though,” Levi says. “Can’t just let a gift go to waste.”

“Right.”

There’s a heavy silence, which is unusual for them.

“Did you get a chance to look at any of the pictures I sent?” Levi asks, and Nico isn’t sure if he’s really interested or just looking for something to talk about.

“Not really,” Nico admits. “We can look at them together now if you want.”

“I’ll put the plates in the kitchen while you pull them up,” Levi says. He grabs their empty plates and heads out the bedroom door.

Nico reaches over to his nightstand and grabs his phone. He pulls up his text thread with Levi and scrolls back to where the pictures started. There’s a lot of them, and he’ll need Levi’s help to tell where one apartment ends and another begins.

Levi comes back into the room and settles close to Nico on the bed. He’s brought the present from Nico’s mom with him, and it sits unopened near their feet.

Levi lays his head against Nico’s shoulder and looks at his phone.

“What do you think?”

“They’re nice,” Nico says, and he knows it doesn’t sound very convincing.

“They’re horrible,” Levi says with a little laugh. “They were all kind of horrible and smelly, and I’m not entirely convinced any of my prospective roommates are law-abiding citizens.”

Nico holds back. He can keep his opinions to himself if this is what Levi really wants.

“Wow,” Levi says. “Still nothing?”

Nico meets Levi’s gaze, and he’s confused.

“I send you endless pictures of disgusting apartments, imply I might have to live with convicted felons, and you still don’t offer to let me live with you.”

Levi’s laughing, but he also seems a little hurt. Nico realizes he’s miscalculated here.

“I thought you –”

“I mean even your parents want us to live together,” Levi gestures to the present at the foot of the bed. “Can’t I just live here? Are you really that against it?”

Nico knows Levi is on the verge of a full-on ramble, but he’s too relieved to say anything. Instead, he grabs Levi by the back of the head and pulls him into a kiss.

“I want you to live here,” Nico says when they part. Levi is already grinning. “I wanted to ask you to move in, but you were always talking about finding your own place. I thought you were trying to tell me you weren’t ready or something.”

“I thought if I kept mentioning how difficult it was to find an apartment in LA, you would offer to let me live with you,” Levi says. “Even my mom was Team Cohabitation by the time she left today.”

“Move in with me,” Nico murmurs before pressing their lips together again.

“Yeah, okay. You don’t have to beg,” Levi jokes. “We still have a lot to talk about. I definitely can’t afford to split the rent here, so we’ll have to work out something else. I can pay for utilities and cable and stuff.”

“You don’t have to –”

“Finish that sentence, and we’re going to fight.”

Nico shuts up.

“We can figure it all out later,” Levi says. “We should probably open your mom’s gift now. She’s probably dying to hear what we think about it.

Nico agrees and pulls the gift up to sit between them. Levi tears into the paper with endearing eagerness.

It’s a picture frame. Well, it’s a picture frame and a picture. It’s of them, but Nico’s never seen it before. His mom must’ve taken it last summer without either of them knowing.

He and Levi are sitting at the table on the patio of his parent’s house. They’re facing each other and laughing, and their fingers are intertwined between them. It’s a good photo.

Later, Levi is taking a shower and Nico is reading in bed. He takes out his phone to message his parents.

**Nico: Change of plans. Levi is moving in.**

**Mom: Yay!!**

**Dad: Excellent!**

  1. **Do you want to be with me or not?**



The thing is, he and Levi don’t do the whole knock-down-drag-out thing. They don’t scream, and they barely even yell. Nico is pretty sure the amount of serious disagreements between them has been in the single digits, even though they’ve been together for three years. Even when there are disagreements, they blow over fairly quickly after a long conversation. Neither of them is too keen to dwell on a fight because they’re too relieved when it’s over.

Nico knows it makes them a little insufferable to their other friends in relationships. Nico tries his best to get in on the conversation when his friends are ranting and raving about their girlfriends, but he knows his attempts are pretty transparent. On a bad day, the worst thing he’s usually willing to say about Levi is that he’s a little messy.

It drives his older sister crazy, especially since she started using their weekly phone calls as a 30-minute vent session about her husband Matt. Her need for him to relate to her relationship woes is palpable in every phone call, and it’s made even more apparent by her open disproval of Levi. Nico just can’t go there though. He doesn’t want to touch it with a ten-foot pole, so he just endures her scoffs as he insists that he’s perfectly happy.

So, he’s not really sure how they got here.

Except, he has a guess.

Nico has been drained lately. He knows he’s been a little out of touch, but Levi has always understood the tremendous stress of his workload. He’s never been the kind of boyfriend to demand Nico’s constant attention. It’s part of what makes them work so well. They’re both perfectly capable of entertaining themselves if need be. The only mutual request is they both make it to the same bed eventually, even if someone has to be carried there after falling asleep on the couch.

It starts Friday morning. Nico wanders out of the bedroom and finds Levi standing behind the kitchen island pouring two bowls of cereal. Nico pauses for a second. He’d slipped into bed around midnight last night, long after Levi had already fallen asleep. They hadn’t even seen each other yesterday. It feels like they haven’t seen each other in weeks, so Nico takes a second to take in his boyfriend. He loves Levi all the time, but there’s something especially endearing about Levi in the morning. He’s particularly charmed by a sleep-warm Levi with his curls askew. He’s wearing one of Nico’s old USC tennis shirts, and he’s preparing Nico’s breakfast even though he doesn’t need to be up for another two hours at least.

“Cereal’s the best I could do today,” he says with a shrug. “We really need to go to the store.”

“Crap,” Nico sighs as he remembers the thing he forgot to do yesterday. “I’m sorry, babe. I meant to stop on the way home.”

“It’s fine,” Levi says lightly. “Do you think you’ll be home earlier tonight? We could go together, pick out stuff for dinner.”

Nico feels the guilt rising as he takes in his second favorite version of Levi – the sunny, sweet, optimistic one. He isn’t sure what compels him to make a promise he knows he can’t necessarily keep. He still finds himself agreeing before he can really think it through.

“No, yeah, I can definitely be home earlier tonight.”

Levi lights up, and Nico knows why. They haven’t had dinner together in at least two weeks. His schedule has been so hectic lately with finals coming up and filling his free time with shadowing at the hospital.

“I’ll probably be back before you anyway, so I’ll just go to the store and meet you here to cook.”

Nico hears him, and he’s going to respond - really - it’s just that he suddenly remembered he wants to drop by Dr. Hughart’s office hours. If he doesn’t leave now, he’ll miss them. 

“Nico?”

Nico snaps his eyes back to Levi from where they were staring at the clock on the microwave.

“Sorry,” Nico groans. “What’d you say?”

“I asked if you wore those pants yesterday,” Levi says, and it’s a harmless question. Nico feels a stirring of agitation anyway.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t had time to do laundry in like three weeks,” Nico glances at the clock again. “I’ve really got to run.”

“No time for cereal?” Levi asks, and his pleased smile from earlier is gone.

“I’ll get something from the coffee shop after my first class.”

He’s already turned away from the kitchen and made it to the living room. He starts shoving the work he left on the coffee table into his backpack, but he glances back at Levi over his shoulder. His face is carefully blank, and he’s hyper focused on meticulously pouring Nico’s portion of cereal back into the box. Nico wonders for a minute how long he’s been growing out the facial hair, and why had he only just now noticed?

“Dude, just throw it away,” Nico laughs as he walks toward the front door.

“That’s wasteful,” Levi replies. “And I’m almost done anyway.”

“You and money,” Nico says, and it’s meant to be a playful comment, but his hurry to get out the door maybe doesn’t allow for the right tone.

“Well not all of us have Mom and Dad footing the bill,” Levi mutters, and he doesn’t take his eyes off the cereal box.

Again, these are things they are normally able to joke about. It just doesn’t seem to be going that way this morning.

“No, you’re right,” Nico shrugs as he pulls the front door open. “Some of us have boyfriends who do that.”

He hears Levi drop the cereal box, but he doesn’t stick around to help clean up.

= = =

Nico’s gut feels heavy the rest of the morning. He pulls up the messenger app on his laptop several times throughout class, but he’s not sure an apology text is going to get him out of this one.

Out of all of the things he could try to pick a fight over, their varying financial situations was undoubtedly the worst. The thing is Nico knows Levi doesn’t care about the money. The guy owns like seven shirts and two pairs of jeans. He carries around an ancient laptop and refuses to buy new shoes until his current ones have holes.

Nico has just been irritable lately, and he’s not sure how to knock himself out of it. He’s thinking of about 50 different ways to tell Levi he’s sorry. The main problem is over half would require him to spend money, which is probably the opposite of what Levi would want him to do right now.

He takes a split-second break from furiously typing notes to open the messenger app on his computer. He shoots a quick text to Levi.

**Nico:** I’m an asshole.

He gives it a couple of seconds, but there’s nothing. There aren’t even the tell-tale ellipses to indicate Levi is carefully crafting his response.

Nico feels a little bit of annoyance creep up again, and he finds the only way to taper it is to close the app and turn his focus back on his professor.

= = =

Nico is sitting on the deserted 4thfloor of the library scarfing down a sandwich when his phone rings. For a second, he thinks Levi is finally acknowledging his message from earlier.

He’s wrong, though. It’s a call from Mia.

Nico lets it ring for a couple of seconds, and he’s tempted to ignore it altogether. His conversations with Mia almost never end well, and he’s got a shit ton of homework he could be working on instead.

Mia almost never calls, though. So, he decides to pick up on the off chance it’s an emergency.

“Hello?” he asks warily.

“You could try to be a little more enthusiastic,” Mia drawls.

“Sorry,” Nico says, and he works on pepping up his delivery. “What’s up?”

“Just thought I’d check in on you. Mom and Dad said you were having a rough few days.”

“More like a rough couple of weeks,” Nico admits, even though it really isn’t like him to fess up to hardship.

“You’ve always been good at everything you do, Nico. School may be rough right now, but you’ll get through it just fine. If you’re having a hard time, I can only imagine how much your classmates are suffering.”

Mia maintains her dry delivery, but Nico knows she’s trying to offer some reassurance.

“It’s not just school,” Nico says before he can stop himself. He knows he’s made a mistake the second it leaves his mouth.

While his parents have fully embraced Levi as another son, his sisters have been slow on the uptake.

“Problems at home?” Mia asks, and her feigned indifference seeps into every word.

“Levi and I aren’t you and Matt. We don’t have problems,” Nico says defensively.

“I’m going to ignore how rude that was because you obviously _do_ have problems.”

“I love Levi,” Nico says firmly. “Sometimes I just wish he wasn’t so –”

“Immature?” Mia supplies. “Insecure? Overwhelmingly –”

“Mia.”

“Love isn’t the only thing that matters,” Mia says matter-of-factly. “You have to think long term, Nico. You have to be sure you both have the same priorities before you get too wrapped up in this.”

“I’m not ‘wrapped up’ in anything,” Nico defends. “We’re in a relationship.”

“You live together,” Mia says. “You’re more committed than a lot of people your age would be, and you have a few years on Levi. Maybe he’s just not ready for the realities of an adult relationship.”

“And what would you know about our relationship?” Nico bites back. “You and Camilla know nothing about Levi, and you know nothing about how we are together. Every time I try to talk about him, you shut down.”

“Nico,” Mia sighs, “I just want you to be realistic about what it takes to make –”

“Levi and I aren’t like you and Matt.”

“I didn’t say –”

“And you would know that, if you could deign to spend more than five minutes with him.”

"I don’t –”

“You and Camilla are _exactly_ the same. You want to bitch about how Levi is insecure, but you refuse to acknowledge your part in it.”

“We aren’t _bitching_. We’re worried –”

“I can’t believe you’d go through this whole charade of checking up on me just to –”

“Nico, I just think you need to think this through! You talk about Levi like he’s the one, and that’s _fine_. But you need to seriously consider what that means. You have to be sure he’s a supportive partner. Is he? Because it seems like it’s always you supporting him.”

Nico hangs up, and he thinks.

= = =

By the time Nico is pushing open their front door, he’s done thinking.

Levi is sitting on the couch. His legs are pulled up in front of him, and he’s hugging his knees as he stares pointedly at the TV. It’s playing an episode of an HGTV show Nico knows they’ve seen, so he’s obviously feigning his interest.

“Hey,” Nico greets tentatively, and he holds out the pizza box in his hands as a peace offering.

Levi’s eyes flick over to him quickly, and Nico can tell he’s surprised.

“I figured you didn’t make it to the store,” Nico continues. “I got your favorite.”

“Should’ve gotten your favorite,” Levi says simply. “It’s your money. I’d hate to think I’m taking advantage of you.”

Right. Pizza is not going to cut it.

“Levi, I never –”

“Do you want to be with me or not?”

Shit.

“Levi, of course –”

“Because lately it’s like everything I do is wrong,” Levi continues. “I’m trying to understand you and whatever it is you’re going through, but you’re not doing yourself any favors by being so grumpy all the time.”

Grumpy is not something he ever thought he’d be called after the age of five, but Nico can’t deny it’s true.

“I’m sorry,” he says emphatically. He flips open the pizza box and pulls out two pieces. He walks over to the couch and hands one to Levi. He thinks it’s a good sign when Levi takes it without comment. His eyebrows are only raised slightly, indicating he’s expecting Nico to keep going.

“I don’t know what’s up with me lately either,” Nico says honestly. “I can feel myself being grumpy and irritable, but it’s like I can’t push it down like I usually would.”

“I don’t want you to push things down,” Levi says, and he takes a bite of pizza. Nico does the same. He figures it helps both of them to have something else to focus on. “I want to know how you’re doing and how you’re feeling. That’s the only way I can do anything about it.”

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do,” Nico counters. “I think I’m just going through a rough patch with school and with…” He trails off.

“With me?” Levi asks, and his eyes are focused steadily on his pizza.

“With everything,” Nico corrects. “It’s like everything is harder or heavier. All of this pressure at school is just bleeding over into everything.”

“I understand,” Levi says, and he sounds sincere. Nico knows better than to not take Levi at his word. “I promise I do, but I’m not going to let you speak to me like you did this morning.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“I’ve offered to pay you rent since the day I moved in. You’re the one who always says I don’t have to.”

“You don’t have to,” Nico confirms. “I don’t want you to. You do everything else. I don’t remember the last time I bought groceries, or cleaned, or, like, checked the mail.”

“I just need you to understand it has never been about the money for me, and it never will be.”

“I know –”

“I mean have you _seen_ you? The money is just a bonus.”

It startles a laugh out of Nico, which seems to be what Levi was going for because he takes the momentary distraction as a chance to steal the slice of pizza out of Nico’s hand.

“Woah, I had to spend an extra thirty minutes in LA traffic to get that!”

Levi just grins and takes a bite.

“Go take a shower,” he directs. “Decompress. If you’re lucky there will be some left for you when you get out.”

A shower actually sounds really great, and the suggestion reminds Nico that Levi seems to always know what he needs.

He gets up to head to the bathroom, but he stands at the head of the couch for a second.

“So, we’re good?” he asks hesitantly. He’s a little worried mentioning the fight might pull them back into it.

“We’re good,” Levi nods, and he waves him off with a smirk.

Nico follows the directive, and he cranks the shower to its hottest setting once he’s in the bathroom. He starts getting undressed and wanders over to open his side of the hamper. He’s anticipating having to shove down all of the clothes he’s accumulated over the past couple of weeks – only it’s empty when he opens it.

He opens the bathroom door and calls out, “You did my laundry?”

“Yeah,” Levi calls back. “You seemed pretty stressed about it this morning.”

There’s amusement in his voice, and Nico knows he’s teasing him a little. Two can play at that game.

“Maybe you should join me in the shower,” Nico suggests. “You’re not getting in our bed covered in pizza grease.”

Levi’s put-upon sigh is loud enough to carry to the bathroom.

“If you insist.”

= = =

  1. **What should I do?**



There’s something innately good about Levi. That’s been obvious since the day they met.

Everyone comments on it – his parents, Levi’s mom, their friends. It’s overt, but sincere.

Nico admires it. He envies it, even. But that doesn’t mean it’s not the one quality that makes him wonder if he and Levi will make this work long-term.

While his sisters are worried about Levi’s age, his lack of funds, and his geek-forward personality, Nico has always been more worried about the _goodness_. Nico knows himself. He knows no one can claim to be completely self-aware, but he can name a few of his flaws. The primary one is his tendency to get lost in his head. He’s a bit of a slave to his mood swings, and he’s willing to dwell in a dark place for longer than he or Levi would like. He’s always a little nervous he’ll stay in a funk for too long; that is, long enough that Levi gets tired of his general pessimism and calls it quits. In his head, Levi finds another happy-go-lucky guy to give him a brick house, a fluffy dog, and three perfect children.

Which is why he’s not as bothered as he is amused when their roles are suddenly reversed.

“—and then I tripped walking out of the lecture hall!” Levi finishes dramatically. His upper body flops theatrically against the kitchen island, and he groans loudly to punctuate the shittiness of the entire day.

Nico thankfully has his back turned. He’s busy flipping pancakes over the stove, and he can’t stop himself from smiling a little at Levi’s performance. He manages to press his lips together and feign a serious expression by the time he turns around.

Levi is staring up at him, head propped on his folded arms. He looks pretty pathetic. The puppy dog eyes he used to get Nico to make midnight pancakes are still in full effect.

Nico slides a plateful of pancakes his way, and Levi digs in without comment.

“You’re just adjusting,” Nico says kindly. “You saw me my first few weeks of medical school. I was a total mess.”

“You were busy and overwhelmed,” Levi corrects. “You weren’t actively failing and embarrassing yourself in front of your entire class.”

“You aren’t failing!” Nico laughed. “Levi, it’s been 2 weeks, and you answered one question wrong in class. It’s going to happen sometimes.”

“It never has before,” Levi counters. “I don’t see why I’ve decided to start now.”

Nico can’t hide the grin anymore, “Are you seriously complaining because you answered a professor’s question incorrectly for the first time in your life?”

Levi groans again, “I know! I’m the worst. I hate myself for feeling this way, but I just…”

“Just?”

“I’m used to being the smartest person in the room,” Levi rushes out. He says it so quickly and breathlessly Nico almost doesn’t catch it.

Nico opens his mouth to respond, but Levi cuts him off.

“And I know that makes me sound like a total asshole – a total arrogant asshole, but it’s like the one thing I’ve had going for me my entire life.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I mean it,” Levi insists. “I don’t think we need to rehash how _uncool_ I was in high school. I had, like, no friends, but at least I had everyone’s respect. Everyone knew I was the smartest guy in the room.”

“Babe, people respected you for more than your brain. There is so much more to you than your academic performance. I would know.”

“Can you at least try to take my problems seriously?”

“I take everything you say seriously,” Nico says. He’s worried his attempt to deescalate the situation has left the impression that he doesn’t care. “I’m just having a little trouble understanding why you’re so upset.”

“You’ll never be able to understand,” Levi sighs. “You’re _you._ You grew up looking like _that_ , and being a tennis champion, and the short stop of a state championship baseball team, _and_ you were also probably the smartest guy in the room. Of course, you can’t understand.”

“Was I supposed to be insulted by any of that? Because it made me feel pretty awesome.”

“Yeah, well,” Levi rolls his eyes. “You are pretty awesome.”

He shoves another forkful of pancakes into his mouth and chews rapidly.

“If you don’t slow down, your bad day is going to get even worse when you asphyxiate on pancakes at one in the morning.”

Levi swallows forcefully, “This whole teasing angle you’ve gone for here is really not the support I need.”

“Hey,” Nico drags out. “I made pancakes. I’m awake at one in the morning even though I have a 24-hour shift starting at eight.”

“Oh, no!” Levi exclaims. “Honey, I totally forgot. You should go to bed.”

“I’m fine, Levi.”

“Not only do I suddenly suck as a student, but I also suck as a boyfriend.”

“You do not suck as a boyfriend,” Nico argues. “Or at least you only _suck_ when I ask you to.”

“Oh my God!” Levi exclaims in disgust, and Nico takes a pancake to the face before he can even register what’s happening.

“Did you just throw a pancake at me?”

“Did you just make an overt blowjob joke when you know I’m already having a bad day?”

“It’s tomorrow,” Nico corrects. “Your bad day was yesterday.”

“And the day before that, and the day before that,” Levi mutters.

“Levi,” Nico says gently, and he leans across the counter to close some of the space between them. “Stop it. You’ve had a bad week. It doesn’t mean every week is going to be bad from now until eternity. It’ll pass.”

“I’m not sure it will,” Levi says, and Nico doesn’t have to look at his glistening eyes to know he’s close to tears.

“Aw, don’t do that,” Nico nearly whispers. He walks around the counter and pulls Levi off of his barstool. He navigates the way to the bedroom. He’s thankful they changed into pajamas before settling in for their midnight snack. He gently directs Levi into bed and follows along after him.

“I’m sorry I was joking around earlier,” Nico says once they’re settled into position. They aren’t pressed together, but Nico can feel Levi’s toes bump methodically against his shin.

“I’m sorry I’m being such a downer,” Levi offers. “I’m just filled with, like, existential dread or something. I have all these questions about my life and the choices I’ve made. What if I don’t even want to be a doctor? What if I’m only doing this because it felt like the thing that smart people do? I just have this feeling that I’m not good at it – that I’m never going to be good at it. I thought I was finally in my element, but I was wrong. I just can’t go back to feeling like a failure.”

“It’ll pass,” Nico says. “I promise. You just have the blues or something. It happens to me all of the time. You’ll bounce back. Just give it time.”

“Lately, it feels like you’re the only sure thing in my life,” Levi says, and his soft tone lets Nico know how hesitant he is to say it out loud. “Everything else is, like, in flummox or something.”

“I feel like that sometimes, too,” Nico admits.

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

Nico reaches a hand back to scratch gently at the hair behind Levi’s ear.

“So, what should I do?”

“Go to sleep,” Nico answers. “I find that things typically feel better in the morning.”

Levi manages a little smile, and he seems to take Nico at his word because his eyes slide shut almost immediately.

“Levi,” Nico whispers, hoping to catch him before he’s completely out of it.

“Yeah?” Levi mutters, and his eyes stay closed.

“You’re going to be an amazing doctor,” he says. “You may not know it yet, but I do.”

Levi’s nose scrunches up when he grins.

= = =

**+1 “Will you marry me?”**

It’s not an overwhelming revelation. It’s barely even a blip. Levi is studiously highlighting large sections of his biochemistry textbook, and Nico is watching the Braves beat the crap out of the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

By all accounts, it’s a normal Monday night. Nico is in that blessed few weeks off before he makes the transition into his residency. Levi is in the throes of his spring semester finals. He’s hit the point where he’s given up on his contacts, so Nico watches as he pushes his glasses up his nose for the umpteenth time that night.

“You know if you highlight the entire book, there was really no point,” he says nonchalantly. His eyes are steady on the game.

“Yeah, well,” Levi huffs. “It all seems important.”

“You’ve got to start parsing it down,” Nico says. “You’ve got to accept that you won’t be able to remember everything verbatim.”

“Maybe you couldn’t,” Levi smirks. “I’m at least going to try.”

“You’ve really done a 180 since this time last semester,” Nico observes.

“You say that like you’ve had nothing to do with it,” Levi says. He drops his highlighter and turns from the coffee table to meet Nico’s eyes.

“No, no, no,” Nico waves off. “This was all you.”

Levi looks like he’s about to protest.

“Don’t! I’m seriously proud of you. Top of your class, straight As through your first year –”

“Don’t jinx it!”

Nico grabs Levi under the arms and manhandles him up onto the couch.

“Hey!”

Nico pulls until they’re pressed against each other, and he presses their lips together swiftly.

“This is all down to you, babe,” Nico continues. “You don’t need me. You never have.”

Nico means it, too. There’s not a doubt in his mind that Levi would be in this exact position with or without him. He’s capable, well-liked, strong… and sincerely unaware of all of it.

“Maybe,” Levi surprisingly concedes. “But I wouldn’t want it that way. It’s better like this – with you as my partner.”

“Partner?”

“It’s been five years. Maybe it’s time to leave boyfriend behind,” Levi pauses thoughtfully. “And that’s what we are, right? Partners?”

Nico swallows. It’s not like Levi is sharing brand new information. These are all things he’s known to be true for a while now.

“No, yeah,” Nico nods. “Partners.”

He lets Levi sink back down to his study position on the floor. He stares at his back for a couple of long seconds, and then he springs into action.

“Can you hand me my laptop?” he asks. “I need to see if Dr. Lincoln has emailed me anything to review before my start date.”

“Yep,” Levi says mindlessly. He reaches under the coffee table and pulls Nico’s laptop out from its usual resting place. Another sign of how well they know each other’s simple habits.

Nico pries it open, but he doesn’t go to his email. He logs into his American Airlines account, and he books a flight to Seattle.

= = =

“Did you get there okay?” Levi asks the second he picks up the phone.

“Yep,” Nico says cheerfully. “It’s only a five-hour drive, babe. I don’t know why it makes you so nervous.”

“I’m sorry for worrying about you,” Levi scoffs, but Nico knows he’s kidding.

“I love that you worry about me,” Nico says. “Listen, we’re about to sit down for dinner, so I’ll have to let you go. I’ll call you before bed?”

“Please do,” Levi sighs. “I’ll just be here self-inflicting early-onset arthritis as I rewrite all of my notes from the semester.”

“Remember to take a break. Heavy studying should always be accompanied by heavy sleeping.”

“You sure didn’t seem to want me to get any sleep last night.”

“I’m going to be out of town for a week! Some sacrifices are for the greater good,” Nico laughs.

“Yeah, okay, big guy. Tell your family I said hey! Or at least tell your parents. I’m sure Camilla and –”

“I’ll tell everyone you say hi.”

Levi drops the comment, “I love you.”

“Love you. I’ll call you later.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Nico hangs up, and he can’t help but feel a little bad for his deceit. He hasn’t just arrived at his childhood home – he’s just arrived at Levi’s.

= = =

Nico comforts himself with the fact that he hasn’t been entirely dishonest. After he wraps things up in Seattle, he’s on the next flight to Palo Alto to see his own family. So, there was some truth to his claim of a trip home.

And he’ll fess up to the entire thing once this whole thing is over.

And maybe he should stop referring to his proposal as “this whole thing.”

Even though it’s been a few months since they’ve all seen each other, his parents are still his parents. So, they’re standing in the foyer ready for him the second he arrives.

“Nico!” his mother exclaims enthusiastically, but it’s his dad who gets his arms around him first.

“It’s been too long,” he states as he releases Nico from a hug.

He’s wrapped up in his mom’s arms before he can respond.

“Such a shame Levi couldn’t join,” his mom sighs. “You couldn’t convince him to take a few days off?”

“It’s medical school, Mom,” Nico says with a smile. “Days off are few and far between.”

“Still a shame,” she says. “Come on! I’ve got lasagna in the oven. The girls are working on a salad.”

“Camilla and Mia are working together?” Nico asks skeptically.

“One is working more than the other,” his dad says wryly.

“I wonder which is which,” Nico says, and they all laugh on their way to the kitchen.

= = =

They’re two wine bottles into the evening when Nico finally works up his nerve.

“I’ve got some news,” he says, and the wine makes it more of a dramatic proclamation than a simple announcement.

“Oh, really?” his mom asks. Mia and Camilla are still ranting and raving over something on their side of the table, so she snaps her fingers succinctly. “Girls, pay attention. Your brother is trying to tell us something.”

Suddenly, all eyes are on him. Nico’s not sure if the heat in his cheeks is from the wine or from the nerves.

“It’s about me and Levi,” he begins.

“Oh, no,” his dad says quietly.

“ _Oh, yes_ ,” Camilla counters.

“Honey, we’ve been having such a good night,” his mother interjects. “Are you sure you want to… temper the mood?”

Nico is confused. He thought everyone would be happy for him – for them. He expected this reaction from his sisters but not his parents. They’ve always given every indication they love Levi almost as much as he does.

“I’m not trying to _temper_ anything!” Nico defends.

“Just tell us,” Mia says, unimpressed. “It was you that did the breaking up, right? You didn’t actually let him dump you.”

Nico flicks his eyes from one sister to the other and then between his two parents. They’re all staring at him earnestly. No one jumps in to state a contrary opinion.

Nico places his wine glass forcefully on the table.

“No one broke up with anyone, Mia,” he says with a scowl. “On the contrary, I’m here because I wanted to give you a heads up that I’m going to propose next week.”

His sisters lock wide eyes, and he knows he’s already lost their attention. His parents, however, brighten up.

“This is wonderful news, sweetheart!” his mother says, and the crack in her voice tells him she means it.

“Wonderful news,” his dad reiterates. “Forget the wine! We should open some champagne!”

He stands and wanders off to the wine cellar. Nico’s mom jumps up and starts clearing plates from the table.

“We should cut the cake,” she says. “It’ll pair well with whatever dreadfully dry bottle your dad brings back up here.”

“Can we just swing back to like two minutes ago when everyone thought I was about to announce a break-up? What the hell was that?” Nico asks. He may be relieved now, but he’s still a little hung up on the shifting energy of the room.

“Well you came all this way without him,” his mom says.

“Yeah, and we haven’t seen you without Levi since that summer he stayed with us,” Camilla comments.

“And the last time we spoke, the two of you had just had an argument,” Mia adds.

“That was months ago, Mia,” Nico groans. “We’re fine. We’re better than fine. We’re in love, and we’re getting married.”

“Only if he says yes,” his dad teases as he walks back into the room. His eyes are focused on the cork of the champagne bottle as he tries to pop it open.

“Let me do it, honey,” Nico’s mom says as she re-enters the dining room. She’s holding Nico’s favorite chocolate cake.

“I’ve got it,” his dad insists.

Seconds later the cork goes flying and breaks the Waterford crystal vase on the buffet table.

It’s not how Nico thought this night would go, but it’s not bad either.

= = =

Nico is exhausted by the time he stumbles into their apartment the following Friday night. It’s only eleven, but it might as well be four in the morning.

The lights are all off, and the only sign Levi is home is his keys on the landing table.

He drops his bags and walks to the bedroom. The tension that comes with a day at the airport melts away as he takes in all the things that make this apartment their home. Nico’s mom’s present from a few years ago started a collection of photos hung around the walls. Some of the two of them, some of each of them with their families or friends. There’s a couple of mugs in the sink, which is an improvement on Levi’s tendency to leave them strewn across every flat surface of their apartment.

There’s a sense of ease – a notion that he can be fully himself here. He can be fully himself with Levi.

He walks past the kitchen, even though he’s tempted to raid the fridge for a late-night snack. The urge to see Levi is greater than the urge to eat the left over pizza he knows he’ll find in there.

He creeps the bedroom door open. It seems Levi has fallen asleep while studying in bed. His bedside lamp is on, and he’s curled up with his side parallel to the headboard. His glasses are askew, and some notes are scrambled around the mattress.

Nico walks silently to him and arranges the notes the best he can. He sets them on the nightstand and attempts to pull the glasses from Levi’s face.

Levi stirs the second he touches him.

“Hi,” he says sleepily, eyes only opening for a second. “Tried t’ wait f’ you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Nico says softly. “I’m relieved to see you sleeping. I was worried you’d become nocturnal.”

“Not yet,” Levi replies. He arranges himself into his normal sleeping position, which means he’s half-settled on Nico’s side of the bed.

“Good,” Nico says as he slips into bed. “Go back to sleep.”

“Wanna hear about your trip,” Levi insists, but Nico knows he has about twenty seconds before he’s lost to sleep again.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Nico leans over and kisses Levi’s temple. He had planned to get a shower and wash the airplane off, but he can’t bring himself to get out of bed.

He doesn’t want to spend any more time apart than they have to.

= = =

His parents helped him pick out a ring only two days ago. It’s simple. It’s gold, it’s round, it’s mostly matte. It’s perfect.

They also helped him plan a fairly extravagant dinner followed by a surprise party featuring both of their families and a collection of their friends.

The problem is, Nico doesn’t even make it through breakfast the next morning.

“So, what did you do in Palo Alto?” Levi asks as he pours them both a cup of coffee. They’re sitting at the kitchen island, feet locked together between their barstools.

“Not much,” Nico says, vaguely.

“Oh, come on,” Levi urges. “We haven’t seen your parents in forever. What did you guys talk about? Fill me in!”

“You, mostly,” Nico answers.

“Me? Should I be worried?” he sounds amused, but he seems to channel some nervous energy into a big sip of coffee.

“No,” Nico says with a big grin. “It was mostly good stuff.”

“Oh, really? Like what?”

“Like how in love with you I am and how you amaze me every day.”

“Nico.”

“How you’re the only person I could ever imagine sharing my life with.”

“Oh my, God.”

“What else do you want to know?” Nico teases.

“Um,” Levi swallows drily. “Did you, like, um, decide to do something about all of that?”

“I did,” Nico nods.

Levi stares at him expectantly, but Nico just grins at him.

“I have a whole thing planned,” Nico says. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”

“I swear to God if you don’t ask me right now, I’ll ask you.”

Nico knows he’s not kidding, and he figures it’s about time he asks the big question for a change.

He grabs Levi’s left hand and presses on his ring finger with his thumb. He realizes the ring is still in his bag by the door, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

He looks back up at Levi. His eyes are shining. He’s wearing the sweet smile he gives Nico whenever he’s done something right.

It comes out effortlessly, like a question he’s held in for too long.

“Will you marry me?”


End file.
